SH/OP

Statement of Purpose

We are a group of people in the Santa Cruz community who are beginning a free food project designed to supply organic produce to people with cancer and HIV. After much lively discussion, we decided to call this group SH/OP: Supporting Health with Organic Produce. We are sponsored by Chadeish Yameinu Jewish Renewal Community of Santa Cruz, and have the personal endorsement of Scott Roseman, founder of New Leaf Community Markets. While we have many goals, ideas and philosophies, our one unifying belief is that there is enough. Our commitment to you is to approach everything we do in the SH/OP organization from the platform of abundance, rather than scarcity.

We envision this project as being three-pronged; we honor the health of our bodies, our community, and our earth. Distribution of organic produce enhances the health and healing of our bodies. We have formed this group as a collective, using a consensus-based decision-making model which we believe offers a model of healing for us as a community. Finally, we honor the Earth by supporting organic farming and making sure that all of the materials that we use are as earth-friendly as possible.

We do realize that there are other food distribution projects that happen in Santa Cruz using the bounty from the market. Ours will be different. We have a very specific community we are trying to reach. Our goal is to be service-oriented as well as providing organic produce. We are also setting up a blog that will provide information about the nutritional aspects of different veggies and fruits as well as recipes. We will attempt to answer the age-old question, “just what can I do with six bunches of dandelion greens?”

We will provide “green” disposable food handler loose gloves, recognizing the absolute need to not spread or bacteria and virus to people whose immunity has been compromised through chemotherapy. We believe that every aspect of this project should support health.

Forgive our lack of brevity and let us just sum this up by stating that our foremost commitment is to make produce accessible to people with cancer and HIV and have the process be a safe one that values the dignity of all people.

How to Volunteer

Interested in volunteering? Please get in touch at produceforhealth@gmail.com, or call (831) 687-8545. (Tip: We'll be able to respond faster if you reach us by email!)

Volunteers are the crux of our program. Each year we’ve grown both our base of clients and growers, and it takes a lot of volunteers for us to keep that up!

There are many ways to volunteer with SH/OP. There is, of course, the need for reliable and consistent people for Saturdays. We usually start preparing for produce pickup around 11:00. This includes getting boxes, loading up tables for the church, and then getting to the markets. After market produce pickup, we head for our distribution site and start setup while we wait for the markets in Scotts Valley and on the Westside. We then distribute produce for about an hour, then get spare produce to the Grey Bears organization, and do a cleanup.

Apart from our distribution, we also have opportunities for volunteers to help with the organizational aspect of the program. We have open meetings, and we would love to have you come take part.

We especially need volunteers who:

Have some experience with grant writing, PR, fundraising, and procurement of supplies. As the season progresses, we also need volunteers who can help with our gleaning program. With a strong volunteer base, we can restart our delivery program.

Let us know what your primary interests are, and let’s see if we can find a place where your talents can be put to good use!

We do require a volunteer orientation that takes about an hour, and will be held once a month beginning Mid-March.

Again, please get in touch at produceforhealth@gmail.com, or call (831) 687-8545